Does the dbag really "engage" the kill line or is it the tension that engages the kill line??

One option is to use a non-collapsing PC with a kill cone. Same setup we use on CRW canopies with tail pockets. There may be a chance that the kill cone doesn't slide down far enough to catch air and make it back to the PC i suppose. In that case you'd have a fully inflated PC causing additional drag though.

What is it you're doing that you want to freepack the canopy but not retract the bridle?

I'm thinking of just flying a non-collapsible PC (make me more used to the flight dynamics of that for when i go base jump again).

If it is your BASE canopy then just use your base PC. That way you get to test the entire canopy setup.

I did 30+ skydive wingsuit jumps using a freepacked Feather 265 with small mesh slider and 37" non collapsable PC...works find and lets you know what you are in for. You can also use it to practice you wingsuit pack jobs.

actually i had always wondered how they did that, then i met some CRW dogs at lodi recently. they showed me their setups. the bridle and kill line were both routed through the canopy and directly to the slider, so that when the slider sits down the lines the bridle and PC get sucked in. (i think thats the jist of it.........??.......)